Soft (Sym) and Hard Links

  • Acts as a reference counter on the data stored.
  • Deleting the source does not delete the content.
  • Source and hard link have the same inode #.
  • A hard link can't be dangling.
  • Hard link needs to be on the same filesystem.
  • Can't hard link to a directory.
  • Like a file shortcut.
  • Have a separate inode.
  • Removing the symlink does not delete the original file.
  • A symlink can be dangling if the source is deleted.
  • Can span across filesystems.